Dynamic eigenvalue analysis of structures with interval parameters based on affine arithmetic

Zhu Zeng-qing,Chen Jian-jun 국제구조공학회 2009 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.33 No.4

Cysteine improves boar sperm quality via glutathione biosynthesis during the liquid storage

Zhu Zhendong,Zeng Yao,Zeng Wenxian 아세아·태평양축산학회 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.2

Objective: Sperm is particularly susceptible to reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress. Glutathione (GSH) is an endogenous antioxidant that regulates sperm redox homeostasis. However, it is not clear whether boar sperm could utilize cysteine for synthesis GSH to protect sperm quality from ROS damage. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of how cysteine is involved in protecting boar sperm quality during liquid storage. Methods: Sperm motility, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxyIlonenal (4- HNE) modifications, mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as the levels of ROS, GSH, and, ATP were evaluated. Moreover, the enzymes (GCLC: glutamate cysteine ligase; GSS: glutathione synthetase) that are involved in glutathione synthesis from cysteine precursor were detected by western blotting. Results: Compared to the control, addition of 1.25 mM cysteine to the liquid storage significantly increased boar sperm progressive motility, straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity, beat-cross frequency, membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, acrosome integrity, activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and GSH level, while reducing the ROS level, lipid peroxidation and 4-HNE modifications. It was also observed that the GCLC and GSS were expressed in boar sperm. Interestingly, when we used menadione to induce sperm with ROS stress, the menadione associated damages were observed to be reduced by the cysteine supplementation. Moreover, compared to the cysteine treatment, the γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) activity, GSH level, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, membrane integrity and progressive motility in boar sperm were decreased by supplementing with an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, buthionine sulfoximine. Conclusion: These data suggest that boar sperm could biosynthesize the GSH from cysteine in vitro. Therefore, during storage, addition of cysteine improves boar sperm quality via enhancing the GSH synthesis to resist ROS stress. Objective: Sperm is particularly susceptible to reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress. Glutathione (GSH) is an endogenous antioxidant that regulates sperm redox homeostasis. However, it is not clear whether boar sperm could utilize cysteine for synthesis GSH to protect sperm quality from ROS damage. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of how cysteine is involved in protecting boar sperm quality during liquid storage.Methods: Sperm motility, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxyIlonenal (4-HNE) modifications, mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as the levels of ROS, GSH, and, ATP were evaluated. Moreover, the enzymes (GCLC: glutamate cysteine ligase; GSS: glutathione synthetase) that are involved in glutathione synthesis from cysteine precursor were detected by western blotting.Results: Compared to the control, addition of 1.25 mM cysteine to the liquid storage significantly increased boar sperm progressive motility, straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity, beat-cross frequency, membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, acrosome integrity, activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase, and GSH level, while reducing the ROS level, lipid peroxidation and 4-HNE modifications. It was also observed that the GCLC and GSS were expressed in boar sperm. Interestingly, when we used menadione to induce sperm with ROS stress, the menadione associated damages were observed to be reduced by the cysteine supplementation. Moreover, compared to the cysteine treatment, the γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS) activity, GSH level, mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP level, membrane integrity and progressive motility in boar sperm were decreased by supplementing with an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, buthionine sulfoximine.Conclusion: These data suggest that boar sperm could biosynthesize the GSH from cysteine in vitro. Therefore, during storage, addition of cysteine improves boar sperm quality via enhancing the GSH synthesis to resist ROS stress.

Sensitization of Cervical Carcinoma Cells to Paclitaxel by an IPP5 Active Mutant

Zeng, Qi-Yan,Huang, Yu,Zeng, Lin-Jie,Huang, Min,Huang, Yong-Qi,Zhu, Qi-Fang Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.19

Paclitaxel is one of the best anticancer agents that has been isolated from plants, but its major disadvantage is its dose-limiting toxicity. In this study, we obtained evidence that the active mutant IPP5 ($8-60hIPP5^m$), the latest member of the inhibitory molecules for protein phosphatase 1, sensitizes human cervix carcinoma cells HeLa more efficiently to the therapeutic effects of paclitaxel. The combination of $8-60hIPP5^m$ with paclitaxel augmented anticancer effects as compared to paclitaxel alone as evidenced by reduced DNA synthesis and increased cytotoxicity in HeLa cells. Furthermore, our results revealed that $8-60hIPP5^m$ enhances paclitaxel-induced G2/M arrest and apoptosis, and augments paclitaxel-induced activation of caspases and release of cytochrome C. Evaluation of signaling pathways indicated that this synergism was in part related to downregulation of NF-${\kappa}B$ activation and serine/threonine kinase Akt pathways. We noted that $8-60hIPP5^m$ downregulated the paclitaxel-induced NF-${\kappa}B$ activation, $I{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ degradation, PI3-K activity and phosphorylation of the serine/threonine kinase Akt, a survival signal which in many instances is regulated by NF-${\kappa}B$. Together, our observations indicate that paclitaxel in combination with $8-60hIPP5^m$ may provide a therapeutic advantage for the treatment of human cervical carcinoma.

Pushing Extended <i>p</i>-Quinodimethanes to the Limit: Stable Tetracyano-oligo(<i>N</i>-annulated perylene)quinodimethanes with Tunable Ground States

Zeng, Zebing,Ishida, Masatoshi,Zafra, José,L.,Zhu, Xiaojian,Sung, Young Mo,Bao, Nina,Webster, Richard D.,Lee, Byung Sun,Li, Run-Wei,Zeng, Wangdong,Li, Yuan,Chi, Chunyan,Navarrete, Juan T. Lo American Chemical Society 2013 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY - Vol.135 No.16

<P><I>p</I>-Quinodimethane (<I>p</I>-QDM) is a fundamental building block for the design of π-conjugated systems with low band gap and open-shell biradical character. However, synthesis of extended <I>p</I>-QDMs has usually suffered from their intrinsic high reactivity and poor solubility. In this work, benzannulation together with terminal cyano-substitution was demonstrated to be an efficient approach for the synthesis of a series of soluble and stable tetracyano-oligo(<I>N</I>-annulated perylene)quinodimethanes <B><I>n</I>Per-CN</B> (<I>n</I> = 1–6), with the longest molecule having 12 <I>para</I>-linked benzenoid rings! The geometry and electronic structures of these oligomers were investigated by steady-state and transient absorption spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, superconducting quantum interference device, and FT Raman spectroscopy assisted by density functional theory calculations. They showed tunable ground states, varying from a closed-shell quinoidal structure for monomer, to a singlet biradical for dimer, trimer, and tetramer, and to a triplet biradical for pentamer and hexamer. Large two-photon absorption cross-section values were observed in the near-infrared range, which also exhibited a clear chain-length dependence.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/jacsat/2013/jacsat.2013.135.issue-16/ja402467y/production/images/medium/ja-2013-02467y_0010.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/ja402467y'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

8-60hIPP5^m-Induced G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest Involves Activation of ATM/p53/p21^cip1/waf1 Pathways and Delayed Cyclin B1 Nuclear Translocation

Zeng, Qi-Yan,Zeng, Lin-Jie,Huang, Yu,Huang, Yong-Qi,Zhu, Qi-Fang,Liao, Zhi-Hong Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.9

Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) is a major serine/threonine phosphatase that controls gene expression and cell cycle progression. The active mutant IPP5 ($8-60hIPP5^m$), the latest member of the inhibitory molecules for PP1, has been shown to inhibit the growth of human cervix carcinoma cells (HeLa). In order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms, the present study assessed overexpression of $8-60hIPP5^m$ in HeLa cells. Flow cytometric and biochemical analyses showed that overexpression of $8-60hIPP5^m$ induced G2/M-phase arrest, which was accompanied by the upregulation of cyclin B1 and phosphorylation of G2/M-phase proteins ATM, p53, $p21^{cip1/waf1}$ and Cdc2, suggesting that $8-60hIPP5^m$ induces G2/M arrest through activation of the ATM/p53/$p21^{cip1/waf1}$/Cdc2/cyclin B1 pathways. We further showed that overexpression of $8-60hIPP5^m$ led to delayed nuclear translocation of cyclin B1. $8-60hIPP5^m$ also could translocate to the nucleus in G2/M phase and interact with $pp1{\alpha}$ and Cdc2 as demonstrated by co-precipitation assay. Taken together, our data demonstrate a novel role for $8-60hIPP5^m$ in regulation of cell cycle in HeLa cells, possibly contributing to the development of new therapeutic strategies for cervix carcinoma.

Influencing factors on low-temperature deNOx performance of Mn–La–Ce–Ni–Ox/PPS catalytic filters applied for cement kiln

She-Min Zhu,Da-Hai Zheng,Yuesong Shen,Yun-Shun Qiu,Bing Li,Yan-Wei Zeng,Shubao Shen,Shemin Zhu 한국공업화학회 2015 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.24 No.-

Effects of catalyst loading amount, reaction temperature, O2 concentration, NH3/NO molar ratio and SO2 on low-temperature catalytic performance of the Mn–La–Ce–Ni–Ox (Mn/La/Ce/Ni = 2.5:2.5:1:1 in mol)/ PPS for NH3-SCR of NO were mainly studied. Results showed that the filter with catalyst loading amount of 250 g/m2 obtained more than 95% NO removal efficiency at 200 8C under filtration velocity of 1 m/min. The NO removal efficiency was still above 85% by injecting 300 ppm SO2 at 200 8C. Anyway, the Mn–La– Ce–Ni–Ox/PPS catalytic filter is promising to achieve the expectation of simultaneous removing particulate and NOx from low-sulfur flue gas in cement kiln.

Push–Pull Type Oligo(<i>N</i>-annulated perylene)quinodimethanes: Chain Length and Solvent-Dependent Ground States and Physical Properties

Zeng, Zebing,Lee, Sangsu,Son, Minjung,Fukuda, Kotaro,Burrezo, Paula Mayorga,Zhu, Xiaojian,Qi, Qingbiao,Li, Run-Wei,Navarrete, Juan T. Ló,pez,Ding, Jun,Casado, Juan,Nakano, Masayoshi,Kim, Dongho American Chemical Society 2015 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY - Vol.137 No.26

<P>Research on stable open-shell singlet diradicaloids recently became a hot topic because of their unique optical, electronic, and magnetic properties and promising applications in materials science. So far, most reported singlet diradicaloid molecules have a symmetric structure, while asymmetric diradicaloids with an additional contribution of a dipolar zwitterionic form to the ground state were rarely studied. In this Article, a series of new push pull type oligo(N-annulated perylene)quinodimethanes were synthesized. Their chain length and solvent-dependent ground states and physical properties were systematically investigated by various experimental methods such as steady-state and transient absorption, two-photon absorption, X-ray crystallographic analysis, electron spin resonance, superconducting quantum interference device, Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemistry. It was found that with extension of the chain length, the diradical character increases while the contribution of the zwitterionic form to the ground state becomes smaller. Because of the intramolecular charge transfer character, the physical properties of this push pull system showed solvent dependence. In addition, density functional theory calculations on the diradical character and Hirshfeld charge were conducted to understand the chain length and solvent dependence of both symmetric and asymmetric systems. Our studies provided a comprehensive understanding on the fundamental structure and environment property relationships in the new asymmetric diradicaloid systems.</P>

Selective Sulfuration at the Corner Sites of a Silver Nanocrystal and Its Use in Stabilization of the Shape

Zeng, J.,Tao, J.,Su, D.,Zhu, Y.,Qin, D.,Xia, Y. American Chemical Society 2011 Nano letters Vol.11 No.7

Performance Analysis and Comparison of Post-Fault PWM Rectifiers Using Various Space Vector Modulation Methods

Zhu, Chong,Zeng, Zhiyong,Zhao, Rongxiang The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2016 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.16 No.6

In this paper, some crucial performance characteristics related to the operational reliability of the post-fault Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) rectifiers, such as line current harmonic distortion, Common Mode Voltage (CMV), and current stress on the capacitors, are fully investigated. The aforementioned performance characteristics of post-fault rectifiers are highly dependent on the utilized space vector modulation (SVM) schemes, which are also examined. Detailed analyses of the three most commonly used SVM schemes for post-fault PWM rectifiers are provided, revealing the major differences in terms of the zero vector synthesis approaches. To compare the performances of the three SVM schemes, the operating principles of a post-fault rectifier are presented with various SVM schemes. Using analytical and numerical methods in the time domain, the performances of the line current distortion, common mode voltage and capacitor current are evaluated and compared for each SVM scheme. The proposed analysis demonstrates that the zero vector synthesis approaches of the considered methods have significant impacts on the performance characteristics of rectifiers. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed SVM schemes are discussed. The experimental results verify the effectiveness and validity of the proposed analysis.

Effects of Dietary Lysine Levels on Apparent Nutrient Digestibility and Serum Amino Acid Absorption Mode in Growing Pigs

Zeng, P.L.,Yan, H.C.,Wang, X.Q.,Zhang, C.M.,Zhu, C.,Shu, G.,Jiang, Q.Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2013 Animal Bioscience Vol.26 No.7

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different dietary lysine levels on the apparent nutrient digestibility, the serum amino acid (AA) concentration, and the biochemical parameters of the precaval and portal vein blood in growing pigs. In Experiment 1, 15 noncannulated pigs received diets with different lysine densities (0.65%, 0.95%, and 1.25% lysine) for 13 d. A total collection digestion test was performed, and blood samples were collected from the precaval vein at the end of the experiment. In Experiment 2, four cannulated pigs were fed the same diets of Experiment 1. The experiment used a self-control experimental design and was divided into three periods. On d 5 of each period, at 0.5 h before feeding and hourly up to 8 h after feeding, single blood samples were collected from catheters placed in the portal vein. In Experiment 1, some serum AAs (including lysine), serum urinary nitrogen (SUN), and total protein (TP) concentrations were significantly affected by the dietary lysine levels (p<0.05). Moreover, the 0.65% lysine treatment showed a significant lower apparent digestibility of gross energy, dry matter, crude protein, and phosphorus than the other treatments (p<0.05). In Experiment 2, serum lysine, histidine, phenylalanine, threonine, valine, isoleucine (p = 0.0588), triglyceride, and SUN (p = 0.0572) concentrations were significantly affected by the dietary lysine levels (p<0.05). Additionally, almost all of the determined serum AA and total AA concentrations reached their lowest values at 0.5 h before feeding and their highest values at 2 h after feeding (p<0.05). These findings indicate that the greatest absorption of AA occurred at 2 h after feeding and that the dynamic profile of serum AA is affected by the dietary lysine levels. Moreover, when the dietary lysine content was 0.95%, the growing pigs achieved a better nutrient digestibility and serum metabolites levels.